Friday, May 18, 2012

The Constitution is broken

Corporations already have so much power. But what happens to our democracy when ExxonMobil, the oil baron Koch brothers, Bank of America, and all of Wall Street can spend unlimited amounts to influence a presidential election?

We're about to find out in our first presidential election year since Citizens United. And because the limitless spending has been protected by the Supreme Court, the only way we can stop it is by amending the Constitution to reverse Citizens United and get big money out of politics for good.

Passing an amendment isn't easy—we need to get overwhelming support at both the state and federal levels. But we have a powerful opportunity right now, in an election year, to flex our political muscle as MoveOn members. We can use the election to help convince politicians up and down the ballot to get on board if they want to earn our votes.

So we're starting today by launching a new petition asking every state legislator, governor, and member of Congress who hasn't yet declared their support for a constitutional amendment to undo Citizens United and permanently get big money out of politics.

The plan is to deliver the petitions to state capitols and governors' mansions in all 50 states and to the local offices of every member of Congress who hasn't yet joined the call for an amendment.

And we aren't, by any means, starting from scratch. MoveOn members and our allies have been working hard ever since Citizens United to build a movement for an amendment—and there's already a lot of grassroots momentum.

President Obama is on board, along with more than 25 U.S. senators, at least 80 members of the U.S. House, and hundreds of state-level lawmakers.1

It's an impressive start, and this year, we have the opportunity to help massively increase those numbers. Polling shows that Americans are fed up with the 1% flooding our political system with cash and getting get lax regulation, rollbacks of workers' rights, huge bailouts, and tax giveaways in return.2

Nearly all of the economic impacts that the 99% movement has mobilized around are tied to the overwhelming influence of big money in our democracy. So once we know who's with us, we're going make the issue personal, confront politicians who won't take a stand with stories of the real-world consequences of a system run by corporations and the 1%, and demand that every last one of them chooses a side.

When President Obama announced his support for marriage equality last week, we all saw how powerful it can be when our political leaders stand behind an idea that—just a short time ago—seemed "unrealistic" or "politically impossible."

It's time, again, to change what's "politically possible" in America.

Will you sign the petition and ask every one of your state and federal lawmakers who isn't on board yet to declare their support for a constitutional amendment to reverse Citizens United and get big money out of our democracy?

Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 7 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.

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